By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

On guard: Nanaimo lifeguards keeping close eye on Westwood Lake

Jun 22, 2018 | 3:40 PM

NANAIMO — Outdoor lifeguards are rare on Vancouver Island, but one of Nanaimo’s most popular beaches will be under watchful eyes this summer.

Lifeguards are on duty from 12 to 6 p.m. every day at Westwood Lake, cleaning the area, tending to any minor injuries and keeping a sharp eye on the water.

Taz Hartwick, aquatics recreation coordinator for the City, said beach lifeguards have been the norm for over 20 years, while other cities have removed lifeguards from beaches.

“It gives options to families that would like to have a lifeguarded, safe area they can swim in, outdoors,” he said. Having lifeguards also makes it easier to run summer and swim camps at the lake, he said.

Hartwick said he recommends every beach having lifeguards, to prevent even the small chance of an accident becoming a reality.

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Serious accidents are rare at Westwood Lake, Hartwick said. “For the majority of the day we have a lifeguard in the water already, so they help people out before it becomes a problem.”

The last major incident at Westwood was the drowning death of a seven-year-old girl in 2010. The B.C. Coroners Service said she wasn’t wearing a life-jacket while under supervision of camp counsellors and three lifeguards.

Westwood lifeguards will be at the beach until Sept. 3.

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